Waka Waka (This one for Africa)

No this has nothing to do with Shakira, although I hope I get a gazillion extra hits due to the title. Sneaky eh? Instead I want to show you some finished and some WIP shots of the Perry figures I'm working on for North Africa.

You've seen these guys before, but I like them so I'm showing them again.

I finished these two for a speed build between christmas and new year's eve.

Some mould lines there I didn't notice...

The official designation was Rifle, Anti-Tank, .55in, Boys. I just call it a BFG!

And then it's on to the dastardly hun...

A squad plus a mortar team. I built a full sprue of figures at once but I only paint five or six at a time. 

I had to convert a MG team to that infamous "over the shoulder" pose.

Painting has begun. I try to vary the appearance but use similar colours on all figures to tie them together.

The squad leader naturally has an MP40, or Schmeisser as it's incorrectly called.

The DAK has more stuff to paint than the desert rats, like arm cuffs. Also I missed a mould line on the right guy's arm.

The platoon commander. "Vorwärts, männer!"

This project is coming along nicely. Expect a painting guide when I've finished the first figures. I'm already thinking of what to buy next, despite having more than sixty figures left to paint. These are destined to be used with Chain of Command where you start with a platoon and then add some support. So a heavy MG team on both sides is on the to-buy list, as is some vehicles. Maybe a carrier for the British and a half track or an armoured car for the Germans.

But here's the rub; Do I go 1/48 scale and use all the nice plastic models from Tamiya and others, or do I go the resin 1/56 scale that is supposed to be correct for 28mm figures? Price-wise it's a toss-up, they cost about the same. The kits are fiddlier, but I like building model kits so it's not really a down-side. On the other hand there are more vehicles available in resin as 1/48 scale is quite new for armour models, and Copplestone do a nice 28mm Rolls-Royce armoured car in metal.

And I have always wanted a Rolls...

"Army Building"

I've been thinking a bit about "Army Building", by which I mean putting together a suitable force of miniatures for your favourite miniatures game. This may sound easy but may be rather complicated. Especially if you are changing from one game to another, but more about that later.

My first pet peeve is calling it an "army". Unless you are playing high-level divisional game where you maneuver around on a map of a continent, your force is not an army. I'm betting it's not even a company, although that one is more possible.

At the Swedish Warhammer scene another odd habit has crept up -- most tournament players are calling their force a "team" like they were playing soccer. Or Bloodbowl. What do they think war is, a game??? Well... um, ok then.

An ork "Battleforce" from Games Workshop -- more like a recon platoon in my book. 

Now that I have gotten that out of my system, let's take a look at some of the problems.

2013 round-up and 2014 plans

Merry New Year!

My goodness, is it 2014 already? I guess it's time for the inevitable 2013 year in review. So how did I do? Not terrible good, I'm a afraid. More after the break: